BIOLASE, Inc. announced it has appointed veteran financial executive Mark J. Nelson as its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective March 27, 2017. He will report to BIOLASE President and CEO Harold C. Flynn, Jr. and replaces David C. Dreyer, who resigned December 31, 2016 to pursue other opportunities.
Nelson, 48, brings significant leadership and technical experience in finance and business management from both public and private companies. He has worked effectively in stages of corporate development, from start-up to turnaround to mature industry leader within the healthcare, scientific instrument, and consumer packaged goods industries.
Most recently, since December 2015, Nelson served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Beyond Meat, a branded consumer goods start-up, where he focused on fundraising, manufacturing supply chain redesign, and public company readiness.
Prior to his tenure at Beyond Meat, from April 2013 to November 2015, Nelson served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Farmer Brothers Co., where he rebuilt the accounting, finance, and internal audit functions, established the company’s investor relations program, put in place several credit facilities, and helped to execute the company’s turnaround through the implementation of a corporate-wide restructuring plan.
“Mark has exactly the right mix of broad financial expertise and general management experience that BIOLASE needs at this pivotal time in our continued transformation,” Flynn says. “He has been both a CFO and a COO and is highly analytical, with deep operational and manufacturing experience implementing robust business processes. He has effectively managed through turnaround and cash constrained situations. We expect his contributions across finance, operations, and corporate development to be crucial in executing our near and long term corporate objectives, and we’re happy to welcome him to the BIOLASE leadership team.”
Nelson spent the majority of his career in financial and operational positions of increasing responsibility with companies in the medical technology and scientific instruments industries, including Plant Controller at C.R. Bard, Inc.; Finance Director at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.; and as Chief Accounting Officer at Newport Corporation, a leader in precision laser technologies.
During his tenure at Newport Corporation, from April 2010 to April 2013, Nelson implemented the company’s international shared-service accounting platform, and helped drive M&A activities through the identification and integration of several acquisition targets. Previously, as Vice President and General Manager, he had full P&L responsibility leading the company’s optical components segment.
Nelson began his career as a Financial Management Program trainee with the General Electric Company.
Nelson holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts.
